Marshall Mens Basketball improves to 8-3 in Conference USA, most league wins since 2011-12

SAN ANTONIO – Marshall men’s basketball sunk 18 3-pointers, one shy of the program record, in a 109-91 win at UTSA on Saturday at the Convocation Center.

With the wire-to-wire win, the Herd snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 12-12, 8-3 in Conference USA. For the second consecutive game, Marshall reached the century mark in regulation time. The last time the Herd posted 100 or more points in regulation in back-to-back games against Division-I opponents was during the 1988-89 season. The Roadrunners fell to 4-20, 2-9.

The Herd scored 18 or more threes for just the third time in school history, on 52.9 percent shooting from distance (18-of-34). Sophomore Jon Elmore (Charleston, W.Va.) had a career-high seven triples on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Each of his attempts on the day were from long range. He added two free throws for a team-high 23 points, and dished out eight assists.

Marshall raced out to a 7-0 lead at 16:23, holding the Roadrunners to 0-of-8 shooting to start the game. UTSA’s first field goal came at 15:06 (7-3). The Herd reached its first double-figure lead at 14:03, up 15-5, after a Browning layup. Marshall’s largest lead of the half (17) came at the 6:58 mark after Kelly’s third 3-pointer, making it 38-21. However, the Roadrunners used a 15-3 run over the next 3:57 to cut the Herd’s lead to five (41-36) with 2:32 to play before the break. Marshall outscored UTSA 11-4 to end the half with a 52-40 advantage.

For the remainder of the game, the Herd kept a lead of 10 or more points, and reached a largest margin of 22 with 2:23 remaining in the contest after a 3-pointer by freshman Jacob Kilgore (Huntington, W.Va.).

The Herd had assists on 30 of its 36 made field goals, most against a Division I opponent since Dec. 17, 1977 against Davidson (30). Marshall had its second-best outing from the field, shooting 55.4 percent (36-of-65), and out-rebounded the Roadrunners 42-37.

MILESTONES

-Third game in school history with 18 or more 3-pointers (18 vs. Hampton – Jan. 6, 1996; school record 19 vs. Morehead State – Dec. 14, 1996)

-Most assists (30) against a D-I opponent since posting 30 against Davidson on Dec. 17, 1977

-Marshall earned its best 11-game start to league play since going 8-3 in the 1996-97 Southern Conference under Greg White

-Marshall earned its first victory against UTSA (1-2 all-time)

-Marshall earned its most wins in a season (12) since going 13-19 in 2012-13, and its most Conference USA wins (8) since going 9-7 in 2011-12

-Marshall earned its fourth road win, most in a single season since going 5-8 away from Huntington in 2011-12

UP NEXT The Herd will meet the WKU Hilltoppers for the second time this season, this time in Bowling Green, Ky., on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 8 p.m. ET. Marshall opened the C-USA season with a 94-76 win over WKU in Huntington on Jan. 3. For the latest information about Marshall men’s basketball, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter.